DEFENDING JOBURG: Our Jozi is safe! — by people who live, work and play there

When visiting Jozi, particularly Rosebank, you’ve gotta get an Uber, right, even if your destination is just around the corner, a barely 5-minute walk away? That’s what the hotel staff will tell you. But let’s hear what residents of this vibrant suburb have to say.

Joburg people really do walk around their city, and the dire warnings that hotel staff issue to their guests are not necessarily based on reality – if the voices of real, ordinary Joburgers are to be believed. And why wouldn’t they be?

The receptionist was emphatic: I had to take an Uber. But it was a two-minute walk away, I remonstrated. I could virtually see the place I was headed to from the street outside the hotel.

“This is Joburg,” was her reply, as if that told you everything you needed to know. There would be trouble, there could be robbery, there might be assault. Or worse. Just while you were walking down a street along which was a reasonable flow of traffic. So, eyes everywhere.

Yet, seemingly giving the lie to claims of potential catastrophe the moment you step out of your hotel, whenever I’ve looked up and down the streets where these warnings have been issued, I’ve seen no evidence of chaos and mayhem. Only people strolling, cars moving, and nothing to suggest that hordes of people meet a sticky end every time they step out there.

“In answer to your question about whether we walk in Rosebank – absolutely. Frequently. My husband regularly walks from our flat in Killarney to the Starbucks on Cradock (Street), with his laptop.

“My elderly parents walk from Killarney to Fournos in Rosebank for a stroll and breakfast. I have more than once walked at night, having sundowners on the rooftop at the Radisson Red (terrible drinks but very much worth it for the view), and walked from there to Momo Kuro or Modern Tailors.

“The idea that people are warned not to walk from a Rosebank hotel to Kingsmead seems really bizarre.”

“It was so lovely to meet you last weekend at the Kingsmead Book Fair. Thank you so much for joining us. I was so pleased to see you looking so well after following your heart operation with trepidation, knowing our festival was so soon.

“To be honest, I walk the streets of the area quite freely and often walk across the road from Kingsmead to Rosebank, without a care in the world.

“I have heard of one or two instances where people are stopped and mugged while crossing, but I have never seen it happen – thank goodness – nor felt threatened at any stage.

“I will never walk with my phone out and on display and I do keep my wits about me. I do think the guards are